On November 13, 1974, the quiet suburban neighbourhood of Amityville in Long Island, New York, woke up to the news of a gruesome carnage by a resident, a young man named Ronald DeFeo Jr., who shot and killed his parents and four siblings at 112 Ocean Avenue, a large Dutch colonial house.

He was arrested and convicted in 1975. In his defense, DeiFeo said
that he killed them because he heard their voices plotting against him.
DeFeo was a drug addict and the psychiatrist for the prosecution believed
that he had an anti-social personality disorder and that he was aware of his
actions when he committed the crimes.

In
Focus

In an eerie replay of the crime, Cadell Jeanson Raja killed his parents,
sister and aunt in Kerala's capital city of Thiruvananthapuram. The crime
was discovered on April 8 when a neighbour noticed that the house was on fire
and alerted the police. Once the fire was doused, the cops stumbled upon
a macabre dance of death that had unfolded within it. The victims had been
killed with a machete and the aunt's body had been dismembered. The
bodies were badly charred in the fire. A half-burnt dummy was also discovered.
The victims were Dr Jean Padma, 58, a retired doctor, Dr Raja Thangam, 60, a
retired college professor, their daughter Caroline, a medical student, and
Lalitha Jain, aged 70. The son of the couple, Cadell Jeanson Raja was missing.

He was arrested from the Thampanoor railway station a couple of days
later. The subsequent interrogations and investigations have revealed an
interesting story. It is said that Cadell confessed to the crimes and
showed no remorse. There were reports that he was into satanic worship and
that he was interested in astral projection. During his arrest, he smiled for
the cameras, though if one looked closely at the TV footage, it was possible to
detect a manic glint in his eyes which darted about slyly without focusing on
anything.

Inquiries with neighbours revealed that Cadell was a recluse and had
little social interaction. There were no adverse reports of any of the
family members who were respected pillars of society who went to church
regularly. Nobody had been able to detect any disturbing undercurrents
beneath the tranquil surface of their family life. Cadell was a medical
school dropout and was said to be working as an animator in an Australian
firm. Latest police reports claim that the crimes were premeditated and
well planned as Cadell resented the way he was neglected and humiliated by his
parents for his lack of accomplishment and failure to live up to their
expectations. However, there are also speculations that he was
schizophrenic and his family chose to brush it under the carpet and deny him
treatment fearing social stigma.

A sad story emerges from all these swirling speculations. A story
of a young boy who grew up in a strongly Christian household which laid great
stress on piety, achievement and the suppression of natural instincts and
urges. If he is indeed schizophrenic, it is no wonder. It is a well-known
fact that one of the causes of mental illness is the attempt to suppress one's
natural self. Such rigidly Christian families often frown at popular
music, movies etc as they feel that they corrupt young minds. In fact,
there are many Christian families who still adhere to the rigid and puritan
tenets of Calvinist theology – like Cadell's. They often have no TV at
home and don't allow their kids to listen to pop music. Cadell, in the eyes of
his family, was a failure. He dropped out of medical school and he was an
introvert. In contrast, his sister had completed medical studies and may have
been the favoured child. Constant comparisons and accusations may have pushed
him over the edge finally and murderously as it so often happens with
emotionally abused children.

Some time back, there had also been an incident in Chennai where some
medicos from Nagercoil – both Christians – had thrown a dog from the
terrace. Such violence points to an underlying mental disorder and it
wouldn't be surprising if the two turned out to have a family background like
Cadell's. Society can no longer afford to ignore such incidents as mere
youthful male exuberance and aggression. It's high time social
researchers explored this issue.

Tragically, Cadell's family seems to have seen his mental illness yet
another evidence of his inadequacy and chosen to perceive it as a stigma which
would reflect poorly on their social status. Therein lies another lesson
– it's high time that the silence and stigma around mental illness end.
Parents and teachers must be alert to signs of introversion and odd behaviour
in children to detect such disorders in time and ensure that they receive
proper attention and treatment. Otherwise, there is reason to fear that
there will be many more Cadells in the future, some even masquerading as
doctors. A scenario that recalls Hannibal Lecter from 'The Silence of the
Lambs', no less!